Doors are used to divide areas and/or to enclose spaces. Standard doors are mounted on one side of an opening and pivot from an open position to a closed position. The area that the door is utilized in needs to be of ample size to allow the door to pivot between the open and closed position and to not have any furnishings that may get in the way of this pivoting. Folding doors provide the functionalities of space enclosure and/or division without the need for as much space for the pivoting of the door. Folding doors are generally comprised of a series of sections of a prescribed width with connectors, such as hinges, or bendable material, that facilitate the sections folding onto and against one another to open and close the door. Folding doors are often a cost-effective alternative to other types of doors. They are relatively less expensive, use less materials, and can be installed without the aid of an expert. Nonetheless, they can be manufactured to be just as visually appealing and functional as regular doors. Folding doors provide similar levels of space, sound, and sight division as other types of doors, and can even provide added functionality and benefits by nature of their flexibility and ease of installation.
To minimize their spacial footprint, a folding door is typically affixed to one side of a door frame and is operated by being pulled side-to-side within the frame to open and close by the user. By its nature, however, a folding door is more difficult to keep in a closed position because it is less structurally stable for being comprised of folding panels. Dissimilar to a traditional door that opens outward or inward in relation to the user, folding doors cannot be kept closed with traditional bolt-type locks. One method of keeping folding doors closed is reliance on their structural stability to keep the door in a certain position. However, this method fails to work with doors that include bendable material instead of hinges as connectors between the panels due to the material's tendency to fold if the door is not locked in place.
A folding door may also be kept closed by magnets, one or more of which would be attached to the leading edge of the folding door and upon contact with a metal strip affixed to the opposite side of the door frame, keep the door in the locked position until pulled apart. However, varying temperatures cause magnets to weaken over time such that they would eventually cease to adhere to the metal strip and need to be replaced. The metal strip in the door frame is also susceptible to rust and wear through use, inhibiting its functionality and appearance. Furthermore, the need for metallic parts makes the folding door overall more expensive to manufacture and maintain for the user.
What is needed is a more cost-effective alternative to keeping folding doors closed that preserves the benefits and functionalities of a folding door, but is easier to maintain, replace, and just as simple to use.